Mechanism behind reduced resection ability of bent snares during cold snare polypectomy.

Accidental bending of the snare sheath occasionally occurs during cold snare polypectomy (CSP). We aimed to demonstrate whether snare bending reduces resection ability and, if it does, what causes this reduction. Using currently available CSP snares and prototype snares, we investigated changes in the resection ability of bent snares as well as the stiffness of their sheaths and wire spindles.

Impact of Autism on the Relation Between Sleep and Life Satisfaction in Japanese Adults.

Background/objectives: Sleep disorders, such as short sleep, are common comorbidities in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Sleep quality and duration are directly associated with quality of life (QOL). Clarifying the influence of ASD on the association between short sleep duration and life satisfaction is an efficient way to improve the QOL of patients with ASD.

EGFR, TP53, and CUL3 Triple Mutation in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer and its Potentially Poor Prognosis: A Case Report and Database Analysis.

Concurrent mutations in tumor protein p53 (TP53) or Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1-nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2-pathway components are linked to poor outcomes in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but the impact of triple mutations remains unclear. We report a case of EGFR-, TP53-, and Cullin 3 (CUL3)-mutant NSCLC in a 43-year-old woman with widespread metastases at diagnosis, including those in the contralateral lung, distant lymph nodes, pericardium, liver, bones, left adrenal gland, and brain. She received osimertinib as first-line therapy, but pericardial effusion and liver metastases progressed rapidly over 3 months, and she was switched to carboplatin and pemetrexed.

Japanese Health Insurance Coverage of Fertility Treatment in 2022: Does Coverage Change Patient Perspectives?

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the change in the patient's background and attitude toward infertility treatment both before and after the initiation of insurance coverage and to explore future issues from the patients' perspectives.

Materials And Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a fertility clinic in Japan from February to June 2022. An original questionnaire was given for two groups of new patients at a fertility clinic on their first visit: before fertility treatment insurance coverage started (Before-coverage) and after fertility treatment insurance coverage started (After-coverage).

WEE1 Confers Resistance to KRAS Inhibitors in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

KRAS inhibitors sotorasib and adagrasib have been approved for the treatment of KRAS-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the efficacy of single-agent treatments is limited, presumably due to multiple resistance mechanisms. To overcome these therapeutic limitations, combination strategies that potentiate the antitumor efficacy of KRAS inhibitors must be developed.

Endoscopic hemostasis with a self-assembling peptide gel during endoscopic submucosal dissection and cold-snare polypectomy in the duodenum: Prospective exploratory study (with video).

Objectives: A novel self-assembling peptide gel (SAPG) was recently developed for hemostasis during endoscopic resection (ER) as an alternative for electrocoagulation and clip placement. Therefore, this exploratory study aimed to evaluate the hemostatic effect of SAPG on bleeding during ER of the duodenum.

Methods: Patients with superficial duodenal epithelial tumors who underwent endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) or cold-snare polypectomy (CSP) between June 2022 and October 2023 were enrolled in the study.

Dual single‑nucleotide polymorphism biomarker combination for opioid selection to treat cancer pain.

We have been exploring biomarkers that could help physicians select the appropriate opioid for individualized treatment of cancer pain. Recently, we identified a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of (rs17809012) as one such biomarker that was significantly associated with the analgesic effect of morphine. The current study measured the plasma concentrations of chemokines/cytokines in pre-treatment plasma samples of a total of 138 patients who were randomized to receive morphine (n=70) or oxycodone (n=68).

[Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Bladder Ultrasound Imaging Devices in Radiation Therapy].

Purpose: In radiation therapy for prostate cancer, bladder ultrasound diagnostic devices are utilized. However, the performance of all devices has not been fully evaluated. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of three devices-Lilium IP200 (IP200; Lilium Otsuka, Kanagawa), CubeScan BioCon-900S (900S; JCT, Hiroshima), and BVI 6100 (BVI 6100; Verathon, Bothell, WA, USA)-as tools for measuring bladder volume.

Longitudinal changes following the introduction of socially assistive robots in nursing homes: a qualitative study with ICF framework and causal loop diagramming.

Background: Socially assistive robots introduced in nursing care settings have multidimensional psychological impacts on care recipients and caregivers. This study aims to explore the longitudinal changes induced by socially assistive robots, focusing on a chain of human behaviors.

Methods: In this qualitative study, nine participants from two nursing homes who had experience in manipulating socially assistive robots were interviewed in a semi-structured focus group using a topic guide to explore the changes in care recipients and caregivers.

Association of the interaction between daily step counts and frailty with disability in older adults.

The differences in the association of objectively measured physical activity with disability between frail and non-frail older adults remain unclear. We (1) evaluated the dose-dependent relationship between daily steps and disability in older adults with and without frailty and (2) examined the interaction between steps and frailty status in relation to the risk of disability. This prospective study used data from 4065 adults aged ≥ 65 years from the Kyoto-Kameoka Study, Japan.

Impact of neurovascular bundle preservation on biochemical recurrence after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy for high-risk prostate cancer.

Purpose: To evaluate functional and oncological outcomes in patients who underwent unilateral or bilateral nerve-sparing (NS) robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) for high-risk prostate cancer.

Methods: The cohort comprised 2683 patients with clinical stage T1-4, N0M0 high-risk prostate cancer who underwent RARP in Japanese tertiary care centers from August 2011 to April 2023. High risk was defined using the European Association of Urology risk stratification criteria.

Assessment of myocardial function in Retrievers with dilated cardiomyopathy using 2D speckle tracking echocardiography: a pilot study.

Early diagnosis of canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is complicated by the presence of a prolonged asymptomatic phase, for which a comprehensive evaluation of myocardial function is essential. This pilot study was conducted to evaluate the myocardial function in dogs with DCM using two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (2D-STE). Nine client-owned Retrievers with DCM and twelve client-owned clinically normal Retrievers were comparatively evaluated using standard echocardiography and 2D-STE.

Poor prognostic factors for relapse of interstitial lung disease in microscopic polyangiitis: the Japanese multicentre REVEAL cohort study.

Background: This study investigated poor prognostic factors for the relapse of interstitial lung disease (ILD) in patients with microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) after remission induction therapy.

Methods: We enrolled patients diagnosed with MPA complicated by ILD according to the Chapel Hill Consensus definition from 2001 to 2023 in multiple institutions in the REVEAL cohort. All patients who were treated with immunosuppressive therapy were followed up, and those who relapsed with ILD were extracted in this study.

Establishment of feline embryonic stem cells from the inner cell mass of blastocysts produced .

Introduction: The rising number of cats as pets and the growing interest in animal welfare have led to an increased need for the latest treatments in feline veterinary medicine. Among these, veterinary regenerative medicine using pluripotent stem cells is gaining significant attention. However, there have been no reports on establishing feline embryonic stem cell (ESC) lines that possess the pluripotent potential and the ability to differentiate into three germ layers.

Impact of board-certified intensive care training facilities on choice of adjunctive therapies and prognosis of severe respiratory failure: a nationwide cohort study.

Background: Patients with severe respiratory failure have high mortality and need various interventions. However, the impact of intensivists on treatment choices, patient outcomes, and optimal intensivist staffing patterns is unknown. In this study, we aimed to evaluate treatments and clinical outcomes for patients at board-certified intensive care training facilities compared with those at non-certified facilities.

The efficacy and safety of stepwise oral food challenge in children with hen's egg allergy.

Background: Oral food challenge (OFC) is the gold standard for diagnosing food allergies (FAs) but carries the risk of anaphylactic reaction. Stepwise OFC, starting with a low dose of allergen and progressing to medium and full doses, is effective in determining a tolerable dose. We retrospectively evaluated the results of a stepwise OFC for hen's egg (HE) to demonstrate its safety and efficacy.

Anorectal Remodeling in the Transitional Zone with Increased Expression of LGR5, SOX9, SOX2, and Keratin 13 and 5 in a Dextran Sodium Sulfate-Induced Mouse Model of Ulcerative Colitis.

Although hyperplasia of the anorectal transitional zone (TZ) has been reported in mouse models of ulcerative colitis, the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are not fully understood. We characterized keratin subtypes and examined the expression of stem cell markers in the TZ. Dextran sodium sulfate-treated mice showed abnormal repair of the anorectal region, which consisted of mixed hyperplastic TZ and regenerating crypts.

2-oxoglutarate-dependent Dioxygenases (2-OGDDs) as Oxygen Sensors: Their Importance in Health and Disease.

Since low oxygen conditions below physiological levels, hypoxia, is associated with various diseases, it is crucial to understand the molecular basis behind cellular response to hypoxia. Hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) have been revealed to primarily orchestrate the hypoxia response at the transcription level and have continuously attracted great attention over the past three decades. In addition to these hypoxia-responsive effector proteins, 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase (2-OGDD) superfamily including prolyl-4-hydroxylase domain-containing proteins (PHDs) and factor inhibiting HIF-1 (FIH-1) have attracted even greater attention in recent years as factors that act as direct oxygen sensors due to their necessity of oxygen for the regulation of the expression and activity of the regulatory subunit of HIFs (HIF-α).

Rheumatic Immune-Related Adverse Events With Anti-cyclic Citrullinated Peptide Positivity and Cutaneous Adverse Drug Reactions: A Case Report.

We report the case of a patient who experienced rheumatic immune-related adverse events (irAEs) with anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) positivity and cutaneous adverse drug reactions. A 59-year-old woman with malignant melanoma who was treated with nivolumab as postoperative adjuvant therapy developed polyarthralgia with anti-CCP positivity and dermatologic adverse events caused by celecoxib or lansoprazole. Her rheumatic and cutaneous symptoms greatly improved with oral glucocorticoid treatment.

CDK8 inhibitor KY-065 rescues skeletal abnormalities in achondroplasia model mice.

Cyclin-dependent kinase 8 (CDK8) is a transcription-related CDK family member implicated in the regulation of bone homeostasis, and we recently demonstrated that our internally developed CDK8 inhibitor KY-065 can prevent postmenopausal osteoporosis in a mouse model. Achondroplasia (ACH), the most common form of genetic dwarfism in humans, is caused by a gain-of-function mutation in fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3), a receptor tyrosine kinase that activates downstream mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) signaling pathways. The first precision drug approved for the treatment of ACH in children, the C-type natriuretic peptide analog vosoritide, antagonizes the MAPK pathway, while there are currently no effective and safe medications targeting the STAT1 pathway.

Cancer and disease profiles for PTEN pathogenic variants in Japanese population.

A germline alteration in the PTEN gene causes a spectrum of disorders conceptualized as PTEN hamartoma tumor syndrome (PHTS), which show high risk of tumor development and a highly variable and complex phenotype. The diagnosis of PHTS is established in a proband by identification of a heterozygous germline PTEN pathogenic variant on molecular genetic testing. In this study, to understand more PTEN-associated clinical phenotype and PHTS in a Japanese population, we extracted 128 germline PTEN rare variants from 113,535 adult Japanese registered in Biobank Japan (BBJ), and categorized 29 pathogenic/likely pathogenic variants in 30 individuals (0.

Evaluation of aortic stent endoleaks in the renally impaired patient with ferumoxytol-enhanced MR angiography.

Purpose: To evaluate ferumoxytol-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (FE-MRA) for assessment of endoleaks in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) status post endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR).

Methods: Of 1854 patients who underwent FE-MRA at a single institution between 03/21/2014 and 08/21/2023, 21 patients with a history of AAA and CKD status post EVAR were retrospectively identified (IRB #13-001341). Multiplanar pre- and post-contrast HASTE, T1-VIBE, and high-resolution breath-held 3D MRA sequences were obtained, where a dose of 4 mg/kg of Ferumoxytol was infused over six minutes.

Developmental and Adult Striatal Patterning of Nociceptin Ligand Marks Striosomal Population With Direct Dopamine Projections.

Circuit influences on the midbrain dopamine system are crucial to adaptive behavior and cognition. Recent developments in the study of neuropeptide systems have enabled high-resolution investigations of the intersection of neuromodulatory signals with basal ganglia circuitry, identifying the nociceptin/orphanin FQ (N/OFQ) endogenous opioid peptide system as a prospective regulator of striatal dopamine signaling. Using a prepronociceptin-Cre reporter mouse line, we characterized highly selective striosomal patterning of Pnoc mRNA expression in mouse dorsal striatum, reflecting the early developmental expression of Pnoc.